How to Attract Birds to Your Garden

November 19, 2018

Our feathered friends are much like us — they simply want a place where they feel at home. Here are a couple of suggestions to create your house a welcoming place for birds to shake a tail feather throughout the seasons. Be ready year-round, since migrating birds may discover your spot a destination destination if others have gone south.

Between Naps on the Porch

Everyone wants a roof overhead and a good meal. This landscape, right to a climate that gets lots of rain, supplies both. That said, there are a couple of strategies that can transform any backyard into a joyful bird house. While I naturally concentrate on illustrations in my native California, these four simple strategies can be applied anywhere, in any zone.

Las Pilitas Nursery

Create habitat. For multifamily housing, think about planting a native tree or two. Birds of a feather not just flock together, they flock into the trees they know. For example, there are hundreds of California indigenous bird species that is only going to make their houses in native pine trees. Birding publications are a great source of information to find out what habitat your favorite feathered friends seek.

Gainey Store

Little Bird Feeder – $65

Serve dinner. Nectar and seed claws, like a good Zagat score, will bring the hungry. Here, again, local birding novels can be informative, and understanding which birds you hope to host can also be helpful. For example, robins follow a strict Atkins diet (high-protein worms just, thank you), while hummingbirds subsist on sugary snacks and bugs.

Las Pilitas Nursery

If you would rather save time and money and handle your feathered guests very nicely, look into native seed- and – fruit-bearing foliage. For example, that Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica) provides a feast for fowl from Oregon to Baja.

Las Pilitas Nursery

For the greatest bang for your dollar, assess bird bed-and-breakfasts that provide both preferred habitat and diet. For example, many California native birds like the acorn feast made by the coast live oak, which is also a favorite community habitat.